


Live Another Day

by PsychoBarbie



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Black Character(s), Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Father-Daughter Relationship, Mentioned Abuse, Mixed Character (s), Mother-Daughter Relationship, OFC is black and latina, Science Bros, Science Fam, Tony Stark Gets a Hug, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Tony Stark is Grandpa, by choice, not by blood
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-17
Updated: 2018-05-23
Packaged: 2019-04-01 10:40:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 18,212
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13996521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychoBarbie/pseuds/PsychoBarbie
Summary: "Nothing is more frightening than a miracle." Miracle is not the word any of the Avengers would use to describe the mess they keep finding themselves in.





	1. Chapter 1

Angel flew behind the truck the Natasha and Clint were in and took out the truck that was pursuing them. Tony took out a few of the soldiers in their path while Thor took down a tower that they were shooting from. Steve sped through on his motorcycle dragging a soldier behind him by his leg then tossing him followed by his shield, while Hulk, smashed.

Tony flew ahead as the others were making their way to the base, until he rammed into the fore field that covered it. “Shit!” He exclaimed over the coms.

“Language.” Steve reprimanded shaking his head, “Jarvis, what’s the view upstairs?”

“The building is protected by some sort of energy shield. Struckers technology is well beyond any other Hydra base we’ve taken.” Jarvis explained.

“Loki’s sceptre must be here." Thor grunted over the coms. "Strucker couldn’t mount this defense without it.” He threw his hammer and an approaching man and as always it flew right back to him. “At long last.”

“At long last is lasting a little long boys.” Natasha commented as she blew up a truck and easily shot a gurad.

“Yeah, I think we lost the element of surprise.” Clint added hiding behind a tree.

“Wait a second, is no one gonna’ deal with the fact that Cap’ just said ‘language’?” Tony questioned.

“I know.” Steve sighed looking at the oncoming cars, making a quick decision he stood on the handlebars of his bike flipping and throwing it over his head to that it collided with the Hydra vehicles. “It just slipped out.” He breathed through the coms.

“The city is taking fire.” Jarvis informed.

"Well, now we know Strucker isn't worrying about civilian casualties," Tony said, "Send in the Iron Legion."

They battle went on from there then suddenly there was the sound of Clint groaning in pain followed by Steve’s voice. “There’s an enhanced in the field.”

“Clint’s hit." Natasha said covering the wound with bandages then taking a needle with pain medication and injecting it into Clint's neck. "Somebody wanna deal with that bunker?” Natasha asked over the coms and Angel acquiesced flying through said bunker send off flames and making it explode, the explosion taking down the men surrounding. “Thank you.”

“Stark,” Steve grunted through the coms once again. “We need to get inside.”

“I’m closing in.” Was Tony’s response. “Drawbridge is down people.” Tony’s voice shortly after.

“The enhanced?" Thor asks.  
  
"He's a blur. All the new player's we've faced, I've never seen this. In fact, I still haven't." Cap says.

“Clint’s hurt pretty bad guys, I’m gonna’ need evac.” Natasha said.

“I can get Barton to the jet. You and Stark secure the sceptre. The sooner we're gone the better.” Thor said to Steve then together they knocked down a line of soldiers. “Find the sceptre.”

“And for gosh sake watch your language.” Tony teased.

Steve sighed. “That’s not going away anytime soon.”

“No it isn’t, Hothead, get up here as soon as you can.” Tony instructed.

Angel flew towards the base but was shot by one of the remaining bunker, the shock of being shot caused her to lose her focus and she crashed into the snow on the group immediately dousing her flames, just because she could heal doesn’t mean that they still don’t hurt. Vaguely she registered that the bunker was gearing up for another shot and was content to stay there and take it then get up and destroy it but someone else had a different plan in mind.

There was suddenly a gust of wind and she was being pressed up against a tree with a much larger body pressed against hers. She looked up and into bright blue hooded eyes, pink lips framed by a scruffy jaw, and thick white waves of his hair hung down his forehead.

He turned and sped off knocking the gun from the top of the bunker the came back in her direction, slowing to a jog as he did, then with smirk sped off again.

Angel shook her head and caught flame again taking off towards the base.

* * *

Angel landed inside the base and followed a bright light into a room to find Tony’s suit standing guard and Tony himself poking through a computer.

“How we looking?” Angel questioned as she approached him.

“Not great.” Tony responded. “Here have a look.” He said stepping aside and letting Angel have access to the computer. “I want it all.” He told her as she plugged in a drive and began typing. “Make sure you copy Hill at HQ.”

“Got it.”

“We’re locked down out here.” Natasha said over the coms.

“Then get to Banner, time for a lullaby.” Steve told her.

“I know you’re hiding more than files.” Tony spoke mostly to himself as he looked around the room while Angel typed. “J, give me an IR scan real quick.”

“The wall to your left sir, I’m defecting steel reinforcement, and an air current.”

Tony moved closer to the wall. “Please be a secret door, please be a secret door.” He pleaded the pushed on the wall and to his surprise it opened. “Yay!” He cheered softly.

“You’re a child.” Angel commented without looking up from her computer.

“Guys, I got Strucker.” Steve said.

“Yeah, I got something bigger.” Tony said softly. “Thor, I got eyes on the prize.” Tony said shortly after.

“Tony?” Angel called out to the hole in the wall, letting the files upload to the drive. “Tony?” She called again seeing as he hadn’t returned as yet.

“Jarvis keep an eye on the upload.” Angel told the Iron Man that was still standing guard then moved towards the hole in the wall. “Tony?” She called again, then sighed when she got no response. “You’re gonna’ make me come down there?” She complained to herself then began to make her way down the hallway and into a huge room where a Chitauri ship was mounted to the ceiling, but that wasn't all. All around the room were remains from the Battle of New York and many other SHIELD escapades, it was like a museum down there.

And right in the center of the room was the sceptre, and Tony was staring at it but making no moves to take it.

“Tony?” She called as she moved closer to him. “Are you okay?” She lightly grabbed his arm and that seemed to snap him out of and turned to looked at her the behind her to the Chitauri ship and jumped pushing her behind him as he stared at it. “Tony,” she said grabbing his arm and forcing him to look at her. “Are you okay?” She demanded forcefully and he shakily nodded then looked at the sceptre, fully focused now and held out his hand to call for the Iron Man hand.

Angel looked between him and the Leviathan for moment before following him to the sceptre and watched as he grabbed it.

* * *

 

Once back on the jet Angel patched Clint up as best she could with the supplies on the jet in an effort to stop the bleeding. Dr. Cho would fix him once they got back to the Tower, the rest of the team took turns watching over him after he had fallen asleep then she moved to the front of the jet where Tony was piloting it and placed a hand on his shoulder. 

“Hey, you alright, you seemed pretty shook up earlier.”

“Yeah, I just," he sighed cutting himself off, "I saw some stuff down there, I wished I hadn't, still trying to get it out my head.” Tony explained. 

“I've never seen you like that.” 

“Thor, report on the Hulk.” Natasha interrupted whatever Tony was going to say next from.

“The gates of Hell are filled with the screamed of his victims.” Thor said righteously, to which Natasha looked at him incredulously as did the rest of the group, even Clint had craned his neck and Bruce buried his fact in his hands, so Thor quickly tried to backtrack. 

“But not the screams of the dead of course." Bruce nodded because he new Thor was just trying to help, but he also new that it was a complete lie. No, no the screams of the wounded mostly. A great deal of complaining and whimpering, and tales of strained deltoids and gout.”

Angel couldn’t help the laugh that escaped as Tony interrupted. “Hey Banner, Dr. Cho is on her way in from Seoul, is it alright if she sets up in your lab?”

Bruce turned slightly and nodded. “Yeah, she knows her way around.”

“Tell her to prep everything, Barton’s gonna’ need the full treatment. Jarvis, take the wheel.” Tony instructed as he moved from the pilot seat over to where Thor and Steve stood staring down at the sceptre. While Angel sat and thought about the man from earlier, he clearly was the enhanced that Steve talked about, so why did he pull her out of the way? Why did he save her?


	2. Chapter 2

Angel helped Natasha wheel Clint up to Bruce’s lab, Doctor Cho following closely and setting him up under her tech, a smaller version of the Regeneration Cradle.   
This version of the Cradle is set up on a track that sits above Clint's torso. Two pieces run on the track, printing out new skin over the wound.  
  
Natasha is studying the regeneration just as close as Angel but Natasha’s interest lays in the health of her best friend rather that the science. "Are you sure he's gonna be okay?"

Nat questions the doctor. "Pretending to need this guy really brings the team together."  
  
"There's no chance of deterioration," Cho says as she adjusts something on her machine. "The nanomolecular functionality is instantaneous. His cells don't know they're bonding with simulacrum."  
  
"She is creating tissue," Banner explains, excitedly.  
  
"If you brought him to my lab, the regeneration cradle could do this in twenty minutes." Cho bragged.  
  
"Oh, he's flatlining. I'm calling it." Tony teases as he comes in with a tray of his special smoothie mix. “Time.”  
  
"No, no, no, I'm going to live forever!" Clint protests, taking one of the smoothies from Tony and sipping on it as he hands out the rest. "I'm going to be made of plastic."  
  
"You'll be made of you, Mr. Barton." Helen corrects. "Your own girlfriend won't be able to tell the difference."  
  
"I don't have a girlfriend." Barton says.  
  
"Well, that I can't fix." Helen says with a raised eyebrow. "This is the next thing, Tony." She says, tapping away at her tablet. "Your clunky metal suits are going to be left in the dust."  
  
"Well, that is exactly the plan." Tony says. "And Helen, I expect to see you at the party on Saturday."  
  
"Unlike you, I don't have a lot of time for parties." She says, acting dismissive, but then the stops and asks a bit cautiously, "Will Thor be there?"  
  
"Yep, and so will you. I gotta borrow Bruce and Angel and for a minute, okay?"  
  
“What? I wanna watch-” Angel began protesting by was dragged out by Tony.

* * *

 

“What’s the rumpus?” Bruce questioned as Tony led them into this lab.

“Well it’s the sceptre. We’ve been wondering how Strucker got so inventive. So I’ve been analyzing the gem inside.” Tony spoke as he pulled out his clear tablet and opened up Jarvis’ central control. “You both may recognize.”

“Jarvis.” Angel greeted as Bruce steps out of the orange sphere.

“Ms. Salazar, Doctor.”

“It started out, Jarvis was just a normal language UI. Now he runs the Iron Legion. He runs more if the business than anyone besides Pepper.” Tony explained. “Top of the line.”

“Though I suspect not for long.” Jarvis commented.

Tony scanned the sceptre. “Meet the competition.”

“Oh my god.” Angel said in awe at the complex blue sphere that dwarfed Jarvis in comparison.

“It's beautiful.”

“If you had to guess, what's it look like to you?” Tony continued.

“Like it's thinking.” Bruce answered. “ This could be- I mean it's not a human mind. Look at this. They're like neurons firing.”

“Down in Struckers lab we saw some pretty advanced robotics. They deleted most of the data, but I gotta guess he was knocking on a very particular door.”

“Artificial intelligence.” Bruce concluded.

“Ultron.” Angel concluded what Tony was getting at.

“This could be the key to creating him.” Tony said firmly.

“I thought Ultron was a fantasy?” Bruce scoffed.

“Yesterday it was.” Tony said seriously. “If we can harness this power, apply it to my Iron Legion protocol.”

“That’s a big ‘if’ Tony.” Angel told him.

“Our job is ‘if’.” Tony argued. “What you were sitting on a sun drenched beach sipping margaritas, turning brown, instead of green. Not looking over your shoulder for Veronica.” He spoke to Bruce specifically.

“Hey!” Angel said insulted.

“Don’t hate, we helped design Veronica.” Bruce was quick to defend.

“As a worst case measure. What about a best case?” Tony continued. “What if the world was safe? What if the next time aliens roll up to the club, and they will, they couldn’t get past the bouncer?”

“The only people threatening the planet would be people.” Angel answered him.

“I wanna’ apply this to the Ultron program. But Jarvis can’t download a data schematic this dense. We can only do it, while the sceptre is here. That’s three days. Give me three days.” Tony pleaded.

Angel and Bruce looked to each other in disbelief. “You wanna’ build artificial intelligence in three days and not tell the team?” Angel echoed Bruce’s thought.

“That’s right. You know why? Because I don’t have time for a city hall debate. I don’t wanna’ hear the ‘Man was not meant to metal’ medley. I see a suit of armour around the world.”

“Sounds like a cold world Tony.” Bruce told him.

“I’ve seen colder. This one, this very vulnerable blue one. It needs Ultron. Peace in our time.”Tony said lastly as he moved towards on of the tables set up. “Imagine that.”

Angel sighed and she ang Bruce glanced to each other. “I’ll get the coffee started.”

Day turned to night and back to day again for three whole days while they worked. The three of them becoming increasingly frustrated as every time the program came close it fruition it self-destructed. Arguments among the three broke out as there time spent in the lab grew too much with so little results.

“What did we miss?” Tony asked mostly to himself but as always both Angel and the ever-present Jarvis were there to hear him.

“I’ll continue running variations on the interface.” Jarvis said as he began shutting down the lab. “But you know both should begin getting ready for your guests sir.” Tony grabbed Angel’s hand and helped her down from the table she was sat on. “I’ll notify you if there are any changes.”

Tony began leading her out of the lab. “Thanks buddy.”

“Enjoy yourself sir.”

“I always do.” Tony wrapped his arm around Angel’s shoulder as she tried to provide words of comfort to him.

* * *

 

Angel was in her room with a towel wrapped around her and another wrapped around her hair as she had just gotten out of the shower, when she got a video-call on her Stark phone.

 _“Hi baby!”_ Angel said answering the phone excitedly.

 _“Hi momma.”_ Three year old Marina said waving from the lap of Chanel as she held the phone.

_“How are you my loves?”_

_“Good. Miss you momma.”_

Angel sighed. _“I miss you too baby. It’s just a few more days alright? You guys having fun with Pep?”_

 _“Mhmm.”_ Marina said nodding then sticking her thumb in her mouth.

_“CeCe, you okay?”_

_“Yeah, we watched the news today. Saw you and Papa,and everyone else in Sokovina.”_

_“Sokovia,”_ Angel corrected. _“Chanel, what did I tell you about watching that?”_ She questioned firmly.

_“I’m sorry. Pep was watching.”_

_“It’s okay, but you know how I feel about you guys watching that.”_

_“I know momma.”_

_“I’ll talk to you later, you guys get some rest okay. I love you.”_

_“Love you too.”_

_“Bye momma.”_

After she hung up she got dressed in a[ dark red skirt](https://www.polyvore.com/cgi/set?id=237342915) and a long sleeved white shirt with a pair of heels, then she joined the party which was in full swing. Luckily it wasn’t one of Tony’s more fancy parties, but still filled with lively people.

She chatted with a few random partygoers, saved Bruce from his own awkward shyness, on more than one occasion. Until she was stood with Steve and Thor, among a bunch of war veterans.

“I gotta’ have me some of that.” One of the men exclaimed seeing Thor pull a small vial from within his jacket.

“Oh no, you see this was aged for thousands of years in the barrels built from the wreck of Gunhill’s fleet.” Thor told the older men as he poured a glass for Steve, Angel leaned over a little and looked into the glass, it looked just like any other type of alcohol. She and Steve shared a glance and he shrugged taking a sip. “It’s not meant for mortal men.” Thor warned mockingly.

“Neither was Omaha beach blondie.” The small man on the couch said. “Stop tryin’ to scare us.”

Thor shrugged. “Alright.” He said then poured a least a drop into each man’s glass.

Five minutes later the small man had to be escorted from the Tower while he babbled nonsense, one was faced-down on the bar and the other was completely still behind it.

“I think it killed them.” Angel told Thor who laughed and lead her to the couch’s where only the Avengers, Maria, Helen Cho and Rhodey remained.

"It's a trick!" Clint says, spinning a drumstick in his fingers as he sits on the couch pointing to Thor’s hammer which rested on the table in the centre of the room.  
  
"No, no, it's much more than that." Thor says.   
  
"Ah, 'whosoever be he worthy shall haveth the power!'” Clint said in a poor imitation of Thor’s voice. “Whatever man, it's a trick."  
  
"Well, please, be my guest." Thor says, gesturing to the coffee table where Mjolnir sits.  
  
"Really?" Clint asks, standing up and marching over to the coffee table.  
  
"Clint, you've had a tough week. We won't hold it against you if you can't get it up." Tony teases, and the group laughs.  
  
"You know I've seen this before, right?" Clint asks Thor as he grabs the handle and pulls upwards, but of course the legendary hammer didn’t even budge. "And I still don't know how you do it!" He laughs humorlessly.  
  
"Smell the silent judgement?" Tony smirks.  
  
"Please, Stark, by all means." Clint says.   
  
"Never one to shrink from an honest challenge." Tony says as he saunters around the table, unbuttoning his jacket and vest. "It's physics."  
  
"Physics." Angel nodded to Bruce who just laughs.  
  
"So if I lift it, I then rule Asgard?" Tony asks Thor.  
  
"Yes, of course." Thor grins.  
  
"I will be fair but firmly cruel." Tony says as he grabbed the hammer and pulled, but nothing happened. “Be right back." He runs off to the lab.  
  
When he comes back he's wearing the arm of his suit. He tries to pull the hammer again, even using the little jets on the arm to help, but nothing.  
  
Rhodey dons the War Machine hand and tries to help him out but still nothing.  
  
"Are you even pulling?" Rhodey asks.  
  
"Are you on my team?" Tony shot back.  
  
"Just represent, pull!"  
  
"Alright, let's go." A few minutes later they give up.  
  
Bruce’s turn and he’s met with the same results, he starts yelling and steps down from the table he was on top of trying to pull, pretending to Hulk out. He grins, at the group expecting them to be amused or frightened, but they just stare back at him. “No?”  
  
Steve gets up next, grinning a little as he steps up to the plate. “C’mon Cap.” Clint calls out as Steve took a deep breath, grabs the handle and pulls up. The hammer may have budge but as quickly as it happened, it didn’t and the hammer stayed put. Steve back away holding his hands up in defeat.  
  
Thor chuckles a little. "Nothing."  
  
"And? Widow? Angel?” Bruce gestures to the Russian and Latina women seated on the couch next to his.

“Oh, no. I’m good.” Angel refused instantly.  
  
"Yeah, no, that's not a question I need answered." Natasha declined as well taking a sip of her beer.  
  
"All deference to the man who wouldn't be king, but it's rigged.” Tony, ever the optimist said.

“You bet your ass.” Clint clapped him on the shoulder.

“Steve, he said a bad language word.” Maria pointed out innocently.

“You tell everyone about that?” Steve complained.

“The handle's imprinted, right?” Tony got back on track. “Like a security code? 'Whosoever is carrying Thor's fingerprints,' is, I think, the literal translation?"  
  
"Yes, well, that's a very interesting theory. But I have a simpler one.." Thor says picking Mjolnir up off the table easily and tossing it the catching it. "You're all not worthy."  
  
The group erupts in protest, but it’s cut off at the sound of an ear-splitting screeching noise.  
  
"Worrrtthhyyyy…" a distorted voice creaks, and all attention is drawn to the source. One of the mangled Iron Legion suits limped forward dripping oil with wires hanging. "No, how could you be worthy? You're all killers."  
  
"Stark." Steve calls out tensely.  
  
"Jarvis?" Tony asks softly, looking at his handheld tablet.  
  
"I'm sorry," The voice continues. "I was asleep, or I was a-dream."  
  
"Reboot Legionnaire OS, got a buggy suit." Tony says, pounding the keys on his screen.  
  
"There was this terrible noise, and I was tangled in, strings." The suit says, wobbling a bit and staring down at himself. "I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."  
  
"You killed someone?" Steve asks.   
  
"Wouldn't have been my first call. But, down in the real world, we're faced with ugly choices."  
  
"Who sent you?" Thor asks.  
  
The rogue bot then played a recording of Tony’s voice. "I see a suit of armor around the world."  
  
"Ultron." Banner says, looking at Tony and Angel in disbelief.  
  
"In the flesh." The suit, Ultron, says. "Or, no, not yet. Not this, chrysalis. But I'm ready. I'm on a mission." Thor tightens his grip on Mjolnir, Hill cocks her handgun and slowly stands.  
  
"What mission?" Natasha demands.  
  
"Peace in our time."Ultron said as three more suits burst through the wall from the shop behind.

Steve kicks over a table in front of him,and gets knocked backwards by the impact of the suits and tables through a window behind and falls down to the next floor. Hill drops to the ground and starts firing into at the suits. Thor knocks two aside effortlessly. Tony and Thor scramble for their suits. Natasha had found a gun and had begun shooting as she and Bruce quickly moved to the upper level. Angel let her hands catch and shot it and one of the bots partially melting it before Steve throws the shield and destroyed it completely.

“That was dramatic.”The Ultron says. “I’m sorry I know you mean well, you just didn’t think it through. You wanna’ protect the world, but you don’t want it to change.” Ultron now had everyone’s attention. “How is humanity supposed to be saved if it’s not allowed to evolve? Look at these. . . .  These puppets.” Ultron spoke as he reached down and grabbed one of the dismantled Iron Legion bots then crushed its head. “There is only one path the peace, the Avengers extinction.”

Thor had apparently heard enough as he threw his hammer and the robot exploded on impact.  
"I had strings, but now I'm free. There are no strings on meeee." The power dies and the mask goes dark, Angel shivered, never again will her kids watch Pinocchio.

* * *

  
"All our work is gone." Banner said punching keys and looking through the computer. Tony just stares at the broken robot like he's seen a ghost. "Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch-"  
  
"Ultron." Steve scoffs.  
  
"He's been in everything, files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Natasha continued turning away from the computer she was typing on.  
  
"He's in the files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?" Rhodey said stepping forward, clutching his shoulder which got damaged during a fall.   
  
"Nuclear codes." Hill finishes.  
  
"Nuclear codes." Rhodey confirmed. "Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."  
  
"Nukes? He said he wanted us dead." Natasha questions  
  
"He didn't say dead, he said extinct." Steve reiterates.  
  
"He also said he killed somebody." Clint added.  
  
"There wasn't anyone else in the building." Maria pointed out looking up from where she was pulling glass shards out of her feet.  
  
"Yes, there was." Tony said while, stepping towards center of the room and opening his tablet, showing the now dismantled version of Jarvis’ control center.  
  
"This is insane." Banner says, holding his hands out and his mouth agape in shock.  
  
"Jarvis was the first line of defense." Steve spoke clearly. "He would have shut Ultron down. It makes sense."  
  
"No, Ultron could have assimilated Jarvis. This isn't strategy, this is, rage." Angel explained still in shock.  
  
“It's going around." Clint said nonchalant as Thor storms over to Tony and grabs him by the throat.  
  
"Come on, use your words, buddy." Tony chokes out.  
  
"I have more than enough words to describe you, Stark." Thor growled.  
  
"Thor!" Steve said sharply, and then Thor put Tony. "The Legionnaire?"  
  
"The trail went cold about a hundred miles out, but it's headed north, and it has the scepter. Now we have to retrieve it, again."  
  
"Genie's out of that bottle. Clear and present is Ultron."  
  
"I don't understand." Helen says. "You built this program. Why is it trying to kill us?"  
  
Tony starts laughing shocking everyone and making them look at him in disbelief.  
  
"Uh-uh." Banner says, shaking his head a bit at Tony.

“Tony, no.” Angel said softly.  
  
"You think this is funny?" Thor asks ready to attack the billionaire again.  
  
"No?" Tony answers. "It's probably not, right? Is this so terrible? Is this very terrible? Is it so,is it so?” He laughed again. “It is, it's so terrible."  
  
"This could have been avoided had you not played with something you don't understand."  
  
"No, no I'm sorry, it is funny." Tony says. "It's a hoot why you don't get why we need this."  
  
“Tony!” Angel warned the same time Bruce said. "Tony, maybe this isn't the time-" Banner starts.  
  
"Really? That's it for you two? You just roll over, show your belly, every time somebody snarls?"  
  
"Only when we’ve created a murder-bot."  
  
"We didn't. We weren't even close. Were we close to an interface?" Bruce shrugs.   
  
"Well, you did something right. And you did it right here." Steve says. "The Avengers were supposed to be different than SHIELD."  
  
"Anybody remember when I carried a nuke through a wormhole?"   
  
"Nope, it's never come up." Rhodey says.  
  
"Saved New York?"  
  
"Never heard that."   
  
"Recall that? A hostile alien army came charging through a hole in space. We're standing 300 feet below it. We're the Avengers. We can bust arms dealers all the live long day, but, that up there? That's, that's the end game. How were you guys planning on beating that?"  
  
"Together." Steve says.  
  
"We'll lose."  
  
"Then we'll do that together too. Thor's right. Ultron's calling us out. And I'd like to find him before he's ready for us. The world's a big place. Let's start making it smaller.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Why did I start this story knowing that the end of semester was coming and the amount of work I would be getting.  
> But oh well. We live and we learn.  
> Enjoy.

After their impromptu meeting was dismissed everyone went back to the room to wash off the night’s events and hopefully get some rest.

Angel unfortunately only was able to accomplish the former and found herself tossing and turning for at least an hour before decided to just get up from the bed. It was obvious she wasn’t getting to sleep anytime soon.

“Jarvis?” She called out to the UI while stepping into a pair of sweatpants.

“Yes Miss?”

“Where’s Tony?”

“Mr. Stark is currently in his lab Miss, Dr. Banner left only moments ago,” Jarvis said as Angel left her room. “Shall I inform him that you will be joining him?”

“No thanks Jarvis. I’ve got it from here.” She said as she entered the elevator and let Jarvis take her down to the labs.

When she entered Tony was there jabbing at the tablet in his hand. The room was dark but the glow from the computers and screens in the room illuminated his face and she could see the dark bags under his eyes making him look older than he was.

“You know they say the mark of a true genius, is insomnia.” Tony didn’t respond other than a quirk of his lips. “Can’t sleep?”

“Haven’t tried.” He responded shortly not looking up. “You?”

“Don’t want to.” Angel said moving closer to him. “What are you doing?” She questioned softly.

He sighed and put the pad down. “How did I let this happen?” He said speaking mostly to himself as he hung his head. Angel frowned and pressed her forehead to the middle of his upper back. “You didn’t. There’s no way you could’ve seen something like this coming.”

“I could’ve run som more tests. I-I could’ve tried to- I should-” He started stammering and Angel’s frown deepened as she wrapped her arms around his waist from behind.

“Tony listen to me,” he placed his shaking hand over hers, “This and nothing that will come of this, is your fault.” She knew better than to expect a response. “C’mon,” She said unwinding her arms from around his but keep her hand in his and led him from the lab. She knew that Jarvis would save any information that he had and shut down the lab too.

She led him to the elevator as he got his breathing under control and pressed the button for the communal floor and when they arrived sat him down in a stool at the counter and starting moving around the kitchen preparing a recipe she knew by heart.

“Most people believe that sugar gives you nightmares,” she said adding chunks of chocolate to the boiling pot of milk, “Other believe that it can have the same effect as caffeine, especially in a person that has trouble sleeping.” As she stirred the pot she glanced over at him and found him with his head in his hands, but she knew he was still awake. “My mom though,” He raised his head at that as she shook in some cinnamon and nutmeg. “She believe that hot chocolate, was the cure for any and everything.” Angel poured the finished hot chocolate into two mugs and sprinkled a bit of cinnamon on the top.

“You uh, you never talk about your mom.” Tony said as she set the mug down in front of him and casually climbed on the counter next to him.

“You never talk about your parents.” She countered and he looked down taking a sip of the hot chocolate. “She made this for me when I had my first panic attack. She gave me the nickname Angel, but she was the real angel. Corny I know, but it’s true. I remember a few months after Chanel was born, and I thought to myself ‘I cannot do this, there’s no way I could be half the amazing woman she was.’ And she said to me, ‘Angel a person isn’t defined by how good they are by others standards. Their defined by how good they are by their own.’”

“I never got to say goodbye to them,” Tony said softly. “My parents. Either of them. They were on their way to the airport. Car crash, both of em’ at the same time. Dad was a grade A dick, but mom, she was everything. I couldn’t save them. I wanna be able to protect people, Angel. I  _ need  _ to be able to protect the people I love and care about most in this world. And that’s you. It’s Pepper and your girls, and Rhodes and the team.” He sighed. “That’s what Ultron was supposed to be, he was supposed to stop the threat so nothing like that could happen again.”

“I know you won’t tell me what happened to you in New York. But I know it’s the reason that you think we need Ultron. Hey,” she said nudging him and he looked up at her. “Whatever happens next, it won’t be your fault, you know that?” he nodded. “I called Pepper, she and the girls are gonna stay a while longer. Just until things cool down.” she said while slipping off the counter.

“Good, I miss them.”

“They miss you too.” Angel leaned down and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “Goodnight Papa.”

* * *

“I have something for you.” Angel told Tony later that morning, when she went back down to the lab to find him in the same position. At least he’d look like he had taken a shower and got a few hours of sleep. “Encryptions,” She said holding up two hard drives. “In case Ultron wants in on the suits. One for you,” she said placing it on the table in front of him. “One for Rhodes.” she said waving the other. He picked up the drive and stared at it curiously while she anxiously watched him.

“Wow kid, this,” he said turning it over in his hands. “An amazing idea.” he finished smiling brightly.

“Really?” Angel questioned.

“Yeah, wish I’d thought of it.” he handed it back to her. “Go ahead plug it in.”

“You don’t wanna check it out first?”

“No I trust you.”

Angel smiled and started uploading the encryption files to Tony’s suit. Rhodey’s would have to be sent to him so it could be done manually.

“My dad, never really gave me a lot of compliments so I’m trying to, what’s it called? Break the cycle?”

“Yeah that’s what it’s called.” Angel joked even though she knew his question was rhetorical.

Either way Tony nodded. “Good job kid.”

Slowly the rest of the team trickled in throughout the morning, Bruce was typing on one of the computers and Natasha was on a video call with Rhodey.

“Hold that thought, we’re gonna overnight you a new encryption drive for your suit,” Tony said entering the camera frame and showing them the drive. “In case Ultron wants in.”

“Copy.”

"We might have something." Steve said as he stepped into the lab just as Natasha hung up from Rhodey.. He held in his hand a tablet which he then handed to Thor. The god took a look at the screen and frowned; it wasn't the best of news.  
  
"What's this?" Tony asked.  
  
Steve nodded toward the tablet, "A message."  
  
Thor shoved the tablet into Tony's,  chest. His anger still evident. Tony took the tablet nonetheless and looked down. The tablet showed Strucker dead in his prison cell. On the wall behind him, spelled in his blood, read the word: ‘PEACE’.  
  
"Ultron killed Strucker." Steve announced to the rest.  
  
"And he did a Banksy at the crime scene, just for us." added Tony sarcastically while Bruce and Angel looked over his shoulder at the screen.  
  
Natasha furrowed her brows in confusion at the news. "This is a smoke screen. Why send a message when you've just given a speech?"  
  
"Strucker knew something that Ultron wanted us to miss." Steve said.  
  
"And I bet he –" Natasha began typing on the computer for information on Strucker, but the screen displayed a red error message. "Yup, everything we had on Strucker has been erased."  
  
"Not everything." Tony speaks up.  
  
Minutes later they are all in one of Stark's file room shuffling through boxes of files.

“Strucker had a lot of friends.” Angel noted a she skimmed through a box.

“These people are all horrible.” Bruce said.  
  
“Wait, I know that guy." Tony said quickly as he pointed at a picture in one of the files Bruce was holding who quickly handed it over. "From back in the day he operates off the African coast, black market arms." At Steve’s glare he quickly backtracked. "There are conventions, alright? I meet people. I didn't sell him anything. He was talking about finding something new, a game changer. It was all very ahab."

“What's this?” Thor asked pointing to a mark on the man's neck. 

“That's a tattoo. I don't think he had it.”

“No those are tattoos, this is a brand.”

“Do we know what it means?”

Angel typed on one of the computers.  “It's a word in African dialect meaning thief. In a much more colourful way.”

“What dialect?” Steve asked.

“Waka-Wakanada?” Angel struggled with the pronunciation.  “No. Wakanda.”

At that Tony and Steve looked at each other. “I thought your father got the last of it.”

“I don't follow, what comes out of Wakanda?” Bruce asked.  
  
"The strongest metal on Earth." Tony said and they both looked at Steve’s shield.

* * *

 

"Don't compare me with Stark!" Ultron shouted, his voice full of disgust. "He's a sickness!"  
  
"Aww junior, you're gonna break your old man's heart." Tony was always one for sarcasm, even in the worst situations, lowered himself in the Iron Man suit to stand in the centerr of a walkway, Steve, Thor and Angel stood a ways behind him while Natasha and Clint were hidden in the shadows on the upper levels.  
  
Ultron slowly turned around and faced his creator. Although he wasn't human, he had clear facial expressions; and right now he seemed angry. "If I have to."  
  
From behind Ultron emerged the twins each standing on either side of him.  
  
"Nobody has to break anything." Angel said in an attempt to make peace.  
  
"Clearly you've never made an omelet." The AI definitely has the sass of his creator.  
  
Tony turned to her jokingly. "He beat me by one second."  
  
"Ah, it is funny Mr. Stark?" Pietro took a few steps forwards blue eyes glancing down at the missiles below their feet. "It's what? Comfortable? Like old times?"  
  
"This was never my life." Tony actually sounded remorseful.

“You two can still walk away from this." Steve told them.  
  
Wanda smirked. "Oh, we will."  
  
"I know you've suffered –"  
  
"Captain America." Ultron cut him off practically scoffing. "God's righteous man. Pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but –"  
  
Thor cut in, "If you believe in peace, then let us keep it."

"I think you're confusing peace with quiet.”  
  
"Yeah, huh. What's the vibranium for?" Tony questioned, glancing behind him.  
  
The A.I. gave a devious smile to the heroes. "I'm glad you asked that because I want to take this time to explain my evil plan."  
  
The moment he finished that sentence, Ultron blasted Iron Man and sent him crashing into a metal wall. Tony quickly recovered and launched himself at Ultron as they commenced fighting in the air. It's at that same moment that Ultron's possessed robots, the Iron Legion, come out of nowhere and attack everyone else. Even Klaw's workers join the fight with their machine guns.  
  
It was difficult to keep track of who was fighting who, Klaw's men went after everyone, no distinction. Angel noticed Thor being knocked down by a blue and silver blur, followed by Steve. 

Pietro. 

After ripping apart another robot with her flaming hands, Angel is pulled into a corner, by Pietro.

“What's your name?” He asks with his arms wrapped around her waist. 

Angel placed her hands on his muscular arms and tried to remove them. “What? Let go!”

“Tell me your name!” He pressed.

“Stop!” She finally broke away and moved from the corner. 

“Wait!”

“It's Angel.”

After taking down one of Klaw's men, Angel was distracted by Pietro flying through the air, after foolishly trying to grab onto Mjolnir, and landing hard into a pile of crates. Then being knocked down again by Steve’s shield. 

“Stay down kid.” 

The fighting continued, and above everyone's heads, Tony and Ultron were still in midair, blasting each other with their weapons. Then Tomy slammed Ultron so hard against the roof of the ship that it ruptures a hole. The two fly out and continue their fight, leaving everyone else battling it out on the ship.

“Thor status.” Steve called through the coms.

“The girl tried to warp my mind.” The God responded. “Take special care, I doubt any human could keep her at bay. Fortunately I am mighty.” Thor trailed off then there was silence.

“Thor? Thor report!” Steve called into the coms.

The response was static. “Guys. . .” Bruce’s broken voice barely came through the static. “Is this code green?”

“No it isn't. Not code green.” Angel responded before a red haze took over her mind.

* * *

_ Angel was stumbling through a very familiar hospital, only it wasn’t the bright comforting place that she remembered it to be. Now it was eerie, dark and cold. _

_ Suddenly a very familiar baby’s cry rang out, one that she would know anywhere. _

_ “Chanel?” She called out moving down the hall as quickly as she could when another cry joined the first. “Marina?” She cried in a sprint now as as burst into the room where the cries were coming from. What she saw there stopped her in her tracks. _

_ The room was covered in blood and the bodies of her friends and family. Her mother. Tony. Pepper. Steve. Natasha. Clint. Bruce. Rhodey. _

_ She didn’t dare look in the crib where the cries were emanating from, for she knew exactly what she would find there and couldn’t take seeing it. _

* * *

“Angel? Angel? Hey,” When she came back to, it was to see Steve, still not looking fully whole himself, softly cradling her face and she slowly came back from. “You alright kid? C’mon we, gotta’ get out of here.” Steve mumbled mostly to himself and he carefully stood and helped the younger girl up, keeping her steady with an arm wrapped around her waist as he practically carried her back to the jet.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Got my very first comment on this story.  
> Shoutout to 'bananalips' for the support.
> 
> I own nothing.

Everyone inside the Quinjet was quiet. No one made a sound. The only noise that could be heard was the hum of the jet's engines. Angel was silently sitting on a seat with a blanket wrapped around herself. She kept her head low as she tried her best to distract her thoughts from the nightmare inducing thoughts she had just recently experienced. The rest of the team seemed to be doing the exact same thing because everyone kept to themselves.  
  
"The news is loving you guys." Maria Hill's voice echoed through the aircraft. "Nobody else is. There's been no official call for Banner's arrest, but it's in the air." She said sympathetically and Bruce tired his best to bury himself in his blanket.  
  
"Stark Relief Foundation?"  
  
"Already on the scene." She replies, then paused before asking, "How's the team?"  
  
"Everyone's, " Tony takes a moment to glance over at his teammates who are all vacantly staring off into space. "We took a hit. We'll shake it off."  
  
"Well for now I'd stay in stealth mode and stay away from here." The agent advised.  
  
"So run and hide?"  
  
Maria frowned, not happy with the outcome either. "Until we can find Ultron I don't have a lot else to offer."  
  
"Neither do we." Tony looks back at his team before turning off the screen Maria was on. He walks over to Clint who is currently flying the jet. "Hey, you wanna switch out?"  
  
"No, I'm good." He states while looking over his shoulder at Tony. "If you want to get some kip, now's a good time cause we're still a few hours out."  
  
"A few hours from where?"  
  
"Safe house."

* * *

By the time they arrived at the safe house it was early morning the next day and Angel was lightly shaken awake by Tony who helped her up and held her hand as Clint led them all up to the porch. 

"What is this place?" inquired Thor, asking the question on everyone's mind.  
  
Tony turned to the god, "A safe house?"  
  
"Let's hope." Clint opened the door and stepped inside, with everyone else following closely behind. "Honey? I'm home."  
  
Much to everyone's surprise, a woman walked out from the kitchen and into the living room. She had long brown hair and was holding a bunch of coloring books in one hand, but one thing that was hard to miss is that she was very pregnant.  
  
"I brought company. Sorry I didn't call ahead." Clint told the woman as he walked up to her and gave her a kiss.  
  
"This is an agent of some kind.” Tony muttered as he wrapped his arm around Angel’s shoulders.  
  
The archer then faced the team with his arms still wrapped around the woman's waist. "Ladies and gentlemen, this is Laura."  
  
"Hi," she greeted awkwardly with a small nod, "I know most of your names." Tony not knowing how else to react just gave a small wave was that was just as awkward.  
  
"Oh, incoming!"  
  
Voices of young children were suddenly heard running down the halls. Everyone looked down and saw two kids, a boy and a girl, scurrying over to Hawkeye as they yelled "daddy". He opened his arms and the two children wasted no time in hugging their father.  
  
"Hi sweetheart! Hey buddy!" exclaimed Clint while kissing the top of their heads. "How are you guys doing?"  
  
"These are smaller agents." babbled Tony, adding to his previous statement.  
  
"Did you bring Aunty Nat?" the little girl questioned.  
  
Black Widow smirked, stepping toward the girl. "Why don't you hug her and find out?"  
  
"Sorry for barging in on you." Steve said, always one for keeping his manners.  
  
"Yeah we would have called ahead, but we were busy having no idea you existed." Tony remarked with his usual sarcasm, and Angel nudged him from where she was tucked under his arm.  
  
"Yeah well Fury helped me set this up when I joined." Clint explained, "Kept it off S.H.I.E.L.D's files; like to keep it that way. I figured it's a good place to lay low."  
  
Thor, who was extremely quiet since arriving suddenly stormed out of the house and Steve was quick to follow him.

* * *

 

After Laura had formally introduced herself to the newest member of the team she led Angel upstairs and into one of the guest bedrooms and left her to clean up with some spare clothes .

Once she was changed into the pair of shorts and button up shirt Mrs. Barton had given her she ventured out into the kitchen to that someone else had the chance to used the bathroom.

“Hi.” She said to Mrs. Barton who was bustling about the kitchen.

“Hey,” the older woman said smiling at the younger one. “You find everything okay?” she questioned good naturedly.

“Yeah, I just- I’m not very good at doing nothing. I was wondering if you could use any help?”

If the older woman was surprise by the offer she didn’t show it. “Sure, I’d love some.”

The two worked in comfortable silence making enough sandwiches to feed a small army when Mrs. Barton broke it asking conversationally. “So you’re pretty normal?”

“Mostly.”

“How’d you get involved with that bunch?”

Angel snorted through her nose. “It’s a long story. Tony Stark.” She said in light of telling the full story.

“Ah,” The female Barton hummed. “I understand.”

Before the conversation could continue Clint walked into the kitchen.

“Hothead,” he called and Angel looked over to him. “Stark’s out back, there’s someone he wants you to meet.”

Angel thanked him and dusted off her hands before nodding politely to Mrs. Barton as she began heading out the back door, wondering who in the world could possibly be visiting Tony on the Barton’s farm in the middle of nowhere.

She got her answer when she exited the backdoor and was on the porch when she saw Tony and Steve walking alongside a man she’d heard enough about to recognize.

“Director Fury,” Steve said once they were close enough, “This is-”

“Angel Salazar,” the former Director of SHIELD interrupted. “I’ve heard quite a bit about you from Hill, and Stark.” He added as he held out his hand.

“I’ve heard a lot about you too sir.” Angel said as she shook his hand, despite the alarmingly intimidating man in front of her she couldn’t help the words that came out next. “I’m sorry, I really don’t wanna be disrespectful. So should I look at the eye, or the patch?”

Surprisingly the man only smirked and turned to look at Tony, “You sure she ain’t really your kid.” He questioned before moving past Angel, but not before he patted her shoulder reassuringly and said, “The eye kid.”

* * *

“Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing." Fury explained while getting himself a cup of water from the kitchen where Bruce was drying dishes.

"What about Ultron himself?" Steve questioned from where was leaning against the doorframe with his arms crossed.  
  
"He’s easy to track, he's everywhere." Fury answered quickly. "Guy's multiplying faster than a catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though."  
  
"He's still going after launch codes?" Tony was on the other side of the room playing darts, but kept his ears attentive to the conversation.  
  
"Yes he is, but he's not making any headway."  
  
That sounded very strange to Tony. Surely Ultron could tap into the system somehow. "I cracked the pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare."  
  
Fury shrugged, "Well I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that."  
  
"NEXUS?" Steve questioned.  
  
Angel was quick to help clarify. "It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth." Steve nodded at the simple explanation.  
  
"So what they say?" Clint questioned, getting back on subject.  
  
"He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed."  
  
"By whom?" Tony questioned.  
  
"Party's unknown."  
  
Natasha looked at Fury with a hopeful expression. "We have an ally?"  
  
"Ultron got an enemy, that's not the same thing." He emphasized. "I'd paid folding money to see who it is."  
  
Tony threw the last dart and strolled into the dining area where most of the team was gathered. "I might need to visit NEXUS; find our unknown."  
  
Natasha sighed in disappointment."Well this is good times boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that."  
  
"I do. I have you." Nick Fury walked toward the dining table and sat down next to Angel across from Natasha. "Back in the day I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else, you kids had all the tech you could dream of and here we are, back on earth, with nothing but our will and wit to save the world. Ultron says the Avengers are the only thing between him and his mission. And whether or not he admits it, his mission is global destruction. All of this laid, in a grave. So stand, out with the platinum bastard."  
  
"Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Natasha teased.  
  
Angel giggled as Steve replied with a grin, "You know what Romanoff?"  
  
"So what does he want?" Fury directed the question to the group in hopes of getting some sort of lead.  
  
Steve was the first one to suggest a motive. "To become better than us? He keeps building bodies."  
  
"Person bodies…" concluded Tony. "The human form isn't efficient, biologically speaking we're outmoded, but he keeps coming back to it."  
  
"And you three programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed." commented Natasha with a sly smirk.  
  
"They don’t need to be protected, they need to evolve." Says Bruce and everyone turns their attention to him while he was staring down at a drawing of a butterfly that Clint’s daughter had made, "Ultrons going to evolve."  
  
"How?" Angel asks.  
  
"Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?" he asks. 

* * *

At daybreak the next morning after a much needed night’s sleep, everyone started to get ready to find Ultron and Helen Cho. Hopefully before he has created a new body.  
  
"I'll take Angel,Clint and Natasha." Steve says in a hushed voice trying not to wake the children upstairs while putting his shield on his back.  
  
"Okay, I'll hit the nexus and join you as soon as I can." Says Tony.  
  
Both men walk through the farmhouse and towards the door to wait for the rest of their team. "If Ultron's really building a body"- he gets cut off by Tony.  
  
"An android designed by a robot, could be more powerful than any of us," Tony states, "Maybe all of us."  
  
"You know," Steve says looking up at the cream ceiling above, "I really miss the days when the weirdest thing science created was me."  
  
Nick then walks down the hallway putting on his jacket, "Banner and I will take the jet back New York and I'll drop him off at the tower." He says.  
  
"What are you going to do?" asks Steve in genuine wonder.  
  
“Something dramatic I hope." He informs. “Mind if I borrow Miss Hill?" he asks Tony.  
  
"She's all yours. Apparently.” He added under his breath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Mostly a filler chapter, but the next is really exciting.
> 
> More Pietro/Angel interactions, so what do you guys think will happen there?


	5. Chapter 5

"The real power is inside the cradle." Angel heard Dr. Cho wheeze over Steve's communication device. "Its power is uncontainable. You can't just blow it up. You have to get it to Stark."

"First we have to find it." Steve told her seriously.

"Go!"

"You guys copy that?" Steve grunted through the coms.

"Yup." Came Barton's reply.

"We've got a private jet taking off downtown. No manifest that could be him." Natasha suggested pointing out a spot on the map.

"There." Clint said redirecting their attention to an 18 wheeler traveling down the highway. "It's the truck from the lab. Right above you Cap, on the loop on the bridge. It's them, got three with the cradle and one with the cab. I can take out the driver." Clint offered already flipping switched to prepare the quinjet to fire.

"Negative, that truck crashes the gem would level the city. We need to draw out Ultron." Steve explained.

Steve jumped from the bridge down onto the truck. He rolled over top and dropped down the back only to have the doors burst open. Steve flew upwards and landed back onto the broken metal door that was now scraping the road sending sparks flying.

"Well he's definitely unhappy, I'm gonna' try to keep him that way." Steve yelled over the comms as he clung to the metal.

"You're no match for him Cap." Clint told him.

"Thanks Barton." Cap sighed sarcastically. There was a blast and Steve was thrown back onto the windshield of the car behind him. The crack of the glass could be heard through the radio.

Clint flew the quinjet low through the city, keeping up with Steve and Ultron as they fought on top of the truck.

"I'm going in." Natasha announced when Steve lost shield and moved to the centre of the jet opening the hatch and mounting the motorcycle there.

"We've got a window…four, three, two…give 'em hell." Barton said as he lowered the plane close enough for her to drop.

"I'm always picking up after you boys." She commented as she weaved in and out of the cars, reaching down to grab Steve's shield.

"We're heading under the overpass, I've got no shot." Clint informed his red headed partner.

"Which way?" Natasha asked wondering where the truck was.

"Hard right…now!" Clint instructed and Natasha swerved her bike hard through the corner. She sped through walkways and streets people quickly diving out of the way, until she had finally caught up to Steve and Ultron. She slid the bike under Ultron's truck, barely coming through the other side and tossed Steve his shield which he used to hit Ultron with.

Then Ultron lifted up a piece of earth out of the ground directly in Natasha's path, which she narrowly avoided.

"Where'd that come from?" Angel asked exasperated.

Steve and Ultron resumed their fighting on top of the truck, only for the metal man to use the same weird geokinetic abilities to throw Cap from the cab while simultaneously causing a seven car crash. The cars flipped through the air, all crashing into one another and miraculously Steve made it out unscathed.

"Clint I'm going in." Angel said rising from her seat.

"Everyone's leaving me." Clint mumbled to himself, "Alright hold on." He steered around the highway system getting as close as he could to the fight and opening the hatch once again. "Opening in three, two, light em' up hothead."

Angel lit up and flew towards where Ultron and Steve were still going at it on top of the truck and hit him with a fireball which distracted him long enough for Steve used to get the advantage getting a few good hits in knocking back at Angel where she hit him with another fireball.

"Clint can you draw out the guards?" Natasha asked over then coms.

"Let's find out."

Clint barrelled toward the truck and fired off few shots at Ultron attempting to gain the attention of the robots inside the cab. It worked and they took off into the sky. Steve and Ultron fought a bit more with Angel providing backup for the captain. Until Steve threw Ultron into a pillar. When Ultron shook it off he dove for Steve and tackled him into a nearby moving train.

"Heading back towards you, whatever you're gonna' do. Do it now." Clint informed over the coms.

Angel stared dumbly at where they just were for a moment before going in after them. She hit Ultron hard in the chest sending him back and away from the downed captain. Powering down just in time not to barbeque the civilians on the train.

"I'm going in, guys can you keep him occupied?" Natasha questioned.

"What do you think we've been doing?" Steve replied out of breath.

The fighting in the train continued, Angel mostly keeping the people calm, not being of much help since she couldn't catch fire in a train full of people.

"The package is airborne." Clint informed us, "I have a clean shot."

"Negative I am still in the truck." Natasha said.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Just be ready, I'm sending the package to you."

"How do you want me to take it?"

"Uh, you might wanna' wish you hadn't asked that."

Angel was distracted by Ultron knocking Steve down and wrapping his cold metal hand around her throat.

"So much potential," The AI, tsked. "Wasted!" He practically growled grip tightening until he was suddenly thrown off by a blue blur, Pietro. Ultron took a menacing step towards them but the metal guards shifted red and bent in front of us in a protective manor. Wanda stood behind Steve, hands outstretched and glowing red. Ultron turned towards her.

"Please, don't do this." Ultron pleaded with her.

"What choice do we have?" Wanda countered.

Ultron turned back around and fired in their direction. Pietro grabbed Angel and pulled her down behind the steel seats as the front of the train blew out. The AI then blasted out the side door and escaped.

"We lost him. He's headed back towards you." Steve said quickly getting up and checking the front of the train where Ultron had killed the driver.

"Nat, we gotta' go." Clint said through the coms. "Cap you guys see Nat?" Clint questioned worriedly.

"If you have the package, get it to Stark! Go!" Steve commanded.

"Do you have eyes on Nat?" Clint questioned once again.

"Go!" Steve shouted once again and it seemed Clint obeyed because there was silence on the other side of the coms. "There are civilians in our path." He reported to Pietro who took off out the train to remove the people from its path. "Can you stop this thing?" He asked Wanda, she looked unsure but nodded blasted red tendrils down into the underlining of the train and its brakes, getting it to slow down then stop.

As the passengers scrambled to get off the train Wanda went to go find her brother who was rested against a wall breathing heavily.

"Are you alright?" Wanda asked her brother who was hunched over with his hands on his knees.

"I will be fine, I just need a minute."

"I'm very tempted not to give you one." Steve snapped approaching them with Angel in tow, giving the twins are hard look. The two Maximoffs shared an uneasy glance.

"The cradle? Did you get it?" Wanda asked.

"Stark will take care of it." Steve told her.

"No he won't." Wanda said incredulously.

"You don't know what you're talking about." Angel told the female Maximoff. "Stark's not crazy."

"He will do anything to make things right." Wanda implored.

Steve turned and gave Angel a questioning look to which she just shrugged. Steve sighed and lifted a hand to him com. "Stark come in. Stark? Anyone on coms?" The only response Steve got was silence.

"Ultron cannot tell the difference between saving the world, and destroying it. Where do you think he gets that?" Wanda commented.

"Go." Steve said turning to Angel.

"What about you?"

"We'll find another back. Go, stop him!" Angel spared one more glance back at the Maximoffs before nodding to Steve and taking off to New York.

* * *

 "Tony, tell me you didn't." Angel said as she entered the lab and saw Bruce and Tony working on the cradle with various machines hooked up, clearly not at all trying to get it open and protect the gem, but it seemed as though they were trying to change the makeup of whatever was inside.

"Angel! I'm glad you're here kid," Tony announced. "I need you to set up shop and run a full diagnosis on the cradle, keep us updated with the transfer."

"No." She responded shocking him. "I'm not helping you. What are you doing?"

He shared a look with Bruce before approaching her. "We're, reconfiguring Jarvis' matrix. And were making something better. What Ultron was supposed to be, without all the glitches."

"Jarvis is dead." Angel stated firmly.

"No, look it's a long story. But right now we need your help."

"You're kidding." Angel said in disbelief. "This is exactly what got us in this position in the first place. And Bruce you're just going along with this?" Angel asked rounding on the scientist.

"Angel-" Bruce began to try and convince her but she cut him off.

"No! You guys really can't be serious."

"Angel," Tony said gently. "I'm trying to fix this. I have to." Angel stared at him for a beat, and saw that he was truly distraught about what he had done and was willing to sacrifice his best friend, Jarvis, in order to fix it.

"Okay Dr. Frankenstein, what'd you need?" Angel asked him.

* * *

"This frame work is not compatible," Angel told the two men.

"The genetic coding tower is at 97%," said Bruce to Tony from where he was standing on the other side of the cradle. "You have got to upload that schematic in the next three minutes."

"I'm gonna say this once " He started.

"How bout nunce?" Tony interrupted sharply.

"Shut it down." Steve commanded as Maximoff twins came to a stop behind him, watching Tony suspiciously.

"Nope, not gonna' happen." Tony said continuing on with the upload.

"You don't know what you're doing." Steve urged, stepping closer.

"And you do?" Bruce commented, "She's not in your head?" He asked frustrated gesturing towards Wanda.

"I know you're angry," Wanda said trying to make peace.

"No, we're way past that." Bruce said narrowing his eyes dangerously. "I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade."

"Banner after everything that's happened " Steve tried again.

"Is nothing compared to what's coming." Tony interrupted causing Steve to send him a heated glare.

"You don't know what's in there!" Wanda argued, panic laced in her voice.

A gust of wind blew through the room and the papers flew from the tables as the machines started beeping.

"No, no go on," Pietro teased tossing an unplugged cord to the floor haphazardly, "you were saying." He smirked before there was a gunshot and the glass underneath Pietro shattered and he fell through.

"Pietro!" Wanda shrieked fearfully, dashing forward towards the hole to peer down at her twin. Angel looked through the broken glass as well and saw Clint standing over the Maximoff boy, pinning him down with a foot on the Sokovian's leg. The silver haired man looked a little dazed but uninjured and angry.

"What, you didn't see that coming?" Clint mocked and Pietro glared at him.

Then the alarms in the lab began blaring loudly, the computers saying the cradles power loss was critical because Pietro had unplugged everything.

"I'm rerouting the upload." Tony said moving over to the computers to try and fix the problem. Steve then threw his shield into the computer Tony was using causing it to ricochet around the room. Tony then called his Iron Man gauntlet and shot at Steve.

A startled gasp caused Angel to whip around and look at Wanda where Bruce now had his arm around her throat.

"Go ahead, piss me off." He muttered darkly.

"Bruce!" Angel said sharply about to tell him to back down but instead Wanda thrusted her energy through her own body and into Bruce's and threw him off.

What followed next was everyone being distracted as Thor flew across the floor stopping in front of the cradle. He climbed on top and lifted his hammer summoning an enormous amount of lighting.

"Wait!" Banner shouted. But Thor rammed the cradle full of lighting, warning sirens filled the room as the machine reached max input. Thor pulled back and then in a burst of light, the cradle shattered spewing glass shards and blasting Thor to the ground. As the dust settled a man with dark red almost purple colour gracefully lifted out of the cradle and onto bended knee.

Slowly the man rose and looked around the room and everyone in it and without warning he flew at Thor who seemed ready throwing the man over his shoulder and through another glass wall. He however stopped his momentum just as he reached the skyline view from the tower and stared out at it then at his reflection.

Everyone rushed over to the man to see what he would do next, but Thor quickly held out a hand to stop anyone from attacking and carefully placed his hammer down on a side table then cautiously he walked over to the red man who had glided down to stare with curiosity at everyone in the room.

"I'm sorry, that was…odd." The artificial man stated. "Thank you." He said graciously to Thor. The red man looked over the god and a golden cape similar to Thor's slid down his back, covering the green suit that he had also created

"Thor. You helped create this?" Steve asked.

"I've had a vision, the world, where its starts, all hope and life and at its center, it that." He said pointed to the gold stone in the middle of the man's forehead.

"What the gem?" Banner asked in confusion. Thor nodded.

"It's the mindstone, one of the six infinity stones, the greatest power in the universe and it is unparalleled in its destructive capabilities."

"Then why would you bring it to life?" Steve asked.

"Because Stark is right." Thor admitted.

"Oh, it's definitely the end of times." Bruce sarcastically to Tony's shocked expression.

"The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron." Thor continued

"Not alone." The red man added.

"Why does your vision sound like Jarvis?" Steve asked.

"We reconfigured Jarvis' matrix, to create something new." Angel replied as Tony walked up towards his masterpiece and examined him.

"I think I've had my fill of new." Cap commented.

"You think I am a child of Ultron." The red man stated.

"You're not?" Steve replied suspiciously.

"I am not Ultron." He said simply, "I am not Jarvis. I am…I am."

"I looked in your head," Wanda stated, stepping towards him, "I saw annihilation."

"Look again." He responded simply.

"Ha, her seal of approval means jack to me." Clint snorted.

"Their powers, the horrors in our heads, Ultron himself, they all came from the mindstone. And that is nothing compared to what it could unleash if it were on our side." Thor explained, stepping up.

"Is it?" Cap questioned, turning towards the red man, "Are you, on our side?"

"I don't think it's that simple." He answered truthfully.

"Well it better get real simple real soon." Clint said seriously.

"I am on the side of life," The man continued, "Ultron isn't, he will end it all."

"What's he waiting for?" Tony asked

"You." He stated easily.

"Where?"

"Sokovia. He's got Nat there too." Clint informed,

"If we're wrong about you," Bruce said approaching the man. "If you're the monster Ultron created you to be,"

"What will you do?" The red man asked and Bruce stayed silent. "I don't want to kill Ultron, he is unique, and he's in pain," The man paced slowly around the room, "and that pain will roll over the earth, so he must be destroyed. Every form he's built, every trace and presence of him. We have to act now. And not one of us can do it without the other." He said turning back around to face everyone and looking at them all individually. Then he did something completely unexpected as he picked up Thor's hammer. "There may be no way to make you trust me, but we need to go." He finished lifting the hammer for Thor to take. Thor looked at him in confusion and shock, he took his weapon back and the man walked away.

"Right, well done." Thor said awkwardly patting Tony on the shoulder and followed the red man out of the room.

"Ten minutes, get what you need." Steve announced and everyone went in different directions to prepare themselves for the upcoming fight, Angel turned to head down to the rooms where a lot of gear was stored when she noticed the Maximoff's still standing awkwardly in the middle of the room.

"You two can come with me," Angel said loudly to get their attention. "I'm sure we have some stuff that you can use."

They nodded and followed her out the room.

* * *

"We haven't met properly yet." Wanda announced breaking the awkward silence that had settled amongst the three of them as Angel led them down to the room. "I'm Wanda, and this is my brother Pietro."

"I know." Angel smiled. "I'm Angel." Wanda smiled relieved that there was no hostility in the girl's tone. "Well here we are. You guys can take whatever you can find for fight." Angel said opening the doors and gesturing to the various lockers. "I'll be in there if you need me." She went into one of the changing rooms to give the twins some privacy and closed the door behind her in order to clean up a bit under her suit.

* * *

 Pietro was seated on a bench in changing his old worn out running shoes into a pair of sneakers he had found when he happened to glance up and saw that the girl, Angel, had not closed the door to the locker room all the way. While there wasn't much of her to be seen, what it did see had his blood pumping just a bit harder through his veins.

Her suit was pushed down around her hips, the smooth skin of her side visible through the crack of the door. He followed the curves of her back all the way up to what he could see of the ink etched there, but couldn't make out exactly what it was, however when he got to the strap of her bra was when he felt a harsh swat to the back of his head.

He whipped around to see Wanda glaring disapprovingly at him and only shrugged in response, she shook her head and carefully used her red magic to silently close to door to Angel's changing room fully.


	6. Chapter 6

Angel walked onto the jet and grabbed an earpiece taking a seat on one of the chairs that lined the sides of the quinjet.

Shortly after the Maximoff's boarded the jet grabbing an earpiece each and eyeing them skeptically.

Pietro took it upon himself to sit down next to Angel, and Wanda just across from him.

"May I?" Angel asked the male Maximoff seeing that he was having trouble inserting his earpiece, he looked at her then nodded and handed the piece over. Angel scooted a bit closer and fixed the piece into his ear for him. "There a bit tricky if you've never used them before." She explained sitting back in her seat.

"Thank you." He responded with his thick accent.

"Your welcome."

The rest of the team trickled onto the jet. "You good?" Tony asked as he passed by her.

"Always." Angel responded.

It was quiet from then on out, as Clint started the jet and took off. Everyone was in their own head preparing for the battle ahead. Only the quiet hum of the jet could be heard.

"Ultron knows we're coming," Steve said suddenly standing, bringing everyone from their thoughts and turning their attention to him. "Odds are we'll be running into heavy fire, and that's what we signed up for, but the people of Sokovia they didn't. That's why our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, and that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them and get the job done. We find out what Ultron's been building, we find Romanoff, we clear the field and keep the fight between us."

Steve paused and stared at the ground for a few beats, "Ultron thinks we're monsters," Angel glanced over at Bruce, who gave little reaction, "and that we're what's wrong with the world, but this isn't just about beating him, it's about whether he's right."

* * *

The jet landed in Sokovia early morning rays of light barely peeking over the horizon. Everyone that was left filed off, Tony, Thor and Bruce had been dropped off further out, to look for Natasha and for Tony to see if he could find Ultron.

Stepping off the jet Angel noticed the large graffiti painting of Captain America, with the Sokovian word for 'fascist'.

Steve looked at the painting as well and shook his head tossing his cowl back onto the jet.

"The bridge is the main route out." Wanda said.

"We can cover the roads." Pietro added.

"Wake everyone up." Steve commanded. The twins nodded and Pietro took off to start the evacuation.

"It's not that bad." Clint joked to break the tension, and Steve just shook his head again while Angel giggled and caught fire then took off towards the city.

* * *

Pietro raced through his the city, only one place set in mind. He ran into the police station. "We're under attack! Clear the city! Now!" He yelled at the cops.

He left after saying that and came back with a rifle in hand after no one had moved in the few seconds since he's left.

"Get off your asses," He spat firing several bullets into the ceiling.

Wanda was in the city, using her mental manipulation to help families leave their homes and start heading to safety.

* * *

"Do you think we're gonna' get them all out in time?" Angel asked Clint from where they were paired up on top of a building.

"We have to." Clint said looking at the people slowly trickling out of the homes looking disgruntled at being woken up.

* * *

Tony was in his suit, flying above the city waiting for FRIDAY, to tell him anything on Ultron.

"Your man's in the church, boss," FRIDAY's voice said. "I think he's waiting for you."

Tony increased his speed and headed to the church in the middle of the city.

"Come to confess your sins?" Ultron's voice echoed as soon as he entered the ruins.

Tony smirked behind his armour, "I don't know. How much time you got?"

"More than you," Ultron sneered as he finally showed himself. He was different; he had built himself another body.

"Have you been juicing? Little vibranium cocktail? You're looking..." Ironman trailed looking at the machine. "I don't wanna say 'puffy.'"

"You're stalling to protect the people," Ultron stated.

Tony shrugged, the suit following his movements. "Well, that is the mission. Did you forget?"

"I've moved beyond your mission, I'm free." Ultron said to him as a machine broke through the middle of the church grounds and latched itself to the surface. "What? You think you were the only one stalling?"

"There's the rest of the vibranium. Function, still unclear," FRIDAY explained.

"This is how you end, Tony," Ultron said to his creator. "This is peace in my time."

In an instant, Ultron's robots began to pop out of the ground, and climbed out of the water surrounding the city, crawling up the sides of the bridge.

Immediately Steve started shouting for the people to run and they did so without complaint. Clint started firing his arrows at the robots and Wanda used her powers to shield the people from the blasts of the robots. Angel flew off the bridge and set fire to as many bots as she could stopping them from climbing up the side of the bridge.

* * *

Tony left the church to help out the rest of the team just as Vision entered as planned. "Ultron."

Ultron slowly flew up to him in shock. "My Vision. They really did take everything from me."

"You set the terms." Vision spoke evenly while shaking his head at him. "You can change them."

"All right." Ultron shrugged and grabbed Vision around the neck but before he could do any damage Vision had his hands placed on his head gaining access to Ultron's database.

"Boss it's working, Vision's burning Ultron out of the net. He won't escape through there." Friday announced.

"You shut me out." Ultron growled slamming Vision down to the ground. "You think I care? You take away my world, I take away yours." He spat before turning the key on his machine.

* * *

Angel landed and a line of robots aimed theirs weapons at her, but before she could do anything about at a blue blur ran straight through them dismantling them in mere seconds.

Pietro slowed down enough to pass her with a cocky smirk in place. "You can thank me later." He said then he sped off, at the same time Angel felt a swat to her behind. She could only shake her head as she took off to continue fighting.

While everyone else in the streets were fighting, Thor still in the underground lair, waiting to get Bruce and Natasha out safely while fighting off the robots down there that he could. That was when the ground began to shake and part.

Everyone above ground stopped and stared at one another as the shaking got worse.

Tony stared at the city that was slowly rising and was more than confused. "Friday?"

"Sokovia is going for a ride." She sounded terrified as she confirmed what exactly was happening.

"Do you see...the beauty of it?" Everyone still on the city began to look around, trying to find where the voice was coming from. All the Avengers stopping what they were doing "The inevitability. You rise, only to fall."

Tony flew to the land that was now rising into the sky, trying to find a way to stop it but was blank. "You, Avengers, you meteor. My swift and terrible sword. And the earth will crack with the weight of your failure. Purge me from your computers, turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing." Wanda hugged a nearby truck while Clint continued shoot off arrows like Ultron wasn't even talking. "When the dust settles, the only thing living in this world...will be metal."

* * *

"The vibranium core's got a magnetic field. That's what's keeping the rock together." Friday explained analysing the structure.

"If it drops?"

"Right now," Friday started out, sounding nervous for the whole team. "The impact can kill thousands. Once it gets high enough? Global extinction."

Angel and Steve glanced at each other as Friday repeated what Steve himself had said Ultron wanted the night he was created. He then suddenly pushed her to the side as a robot slammed into him throwing him into a windshield. Followed by dozens more.

"Cap you've got incoming." Tony warned a second too late.

"Incoming already came in." Steve groaned as he pulled himself from the windshield. "Stark, you worry about bringing the city back down safely. The rest of us have one job," Steve continued on once he was standing up. "Tear these things apart, you get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed...walk it off."

Pietro stood leaning against a building for support as he caught his breath the Captain's message, but he then shrugged, figuring it was good enough. He let out a huff before hurrying through the streets again.

As the fight continued on in another part of the city, Wanda was being to panic. She ducked behind a car as one of the robots hurried towards her, and Clint flipped over the car to shoot an arrow in its head. Wanda had started to hyperventilate as more robots came their way and Clint was quick to grab her diving through the window of one of the abandoned houses. Clint poked his head out the window as Wanda put her knees to her chest while continuing with the fast, shallow breaths.

"How could I let this happen?" She whispered to herself. Clint turned around to look at her.

"Hey, hey, you okay?"

"This is all our fault." She cried out. Clint gave her a frown.

"Hey, look at me. It's your fault, it's everyone's fault. Who cares? Are you up for this?" She just continued to look up at him with panic in her eyes. "Are you? Look, I just need to know. Because the city is flying." Once Clint said that, he realized that nothing could really surprise him anymore. "Okay. Look, the city's flying, we're fighting an army of robots, and I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense." One of the robots shot through the wall, and Clint shot right back with an arrow not missing a single beat before turning back to her. "But I'm going back out there because it's my job. Okay?

Wanda just watched him talk, taking what he was saying very seriously. "And I can't do my job and babysit. It doesn't matter what you did or what you were. If you go out there, you fight, and you fight to kill. Stay in here, you're good. I'll tell your brother to come find you. But if you step out that door, you are an Avenger."

Wanda sat there, letting everything he said truly sink in. He was right. She had to make a decision. "All right. Good chat." Clint said as he pat her leg then stood up and moved to the door, leaving Wanda to think. "Yeah, the city is flying." He muttered before kicking the door open and continuing fighting.

* * *

Steve ran to edge of the bridge, hurrying to a car that was about to fall off. He grabbed hold of the bumper and tried to pull it up but the bumper separated from the car and it fell over the edge. He stared at the bumped in his hands shocked but luckily Thor was flying by and quickly went down after the car, grabbing the woman in the car and throwing her up to the bridge.

Steve jumped down, grabbed onto the road of the bridge for support and gripped the woman's hand tight. "You're alright." He promised the woman as she screamed. "Just look at me."

Once they were on the bridge again, a robot began to hurry towards them. "You can't save them all You'll never–" Ultron spoke just before Steve threw his shield into its chest, and threw him off the bridge.

"Never what?" Steve called after it. "You didn't finish!"

Thor then came back onto the bridge with an extra car he caught. Then they began to walk back into the city side by side. "What?" Steve scoffed to Thor. "Were you napping?"

* * *

Natasha and the Hulk had just joined the fight, the Hulk smashing and tearing apart everything he could, and Natasha electrocuting the robots with her batons.

Thor threw his hammer, and called it back to him after it took out a line of robots. Steve kicked his shield in the air, and Thor hit it with his hammer and take out more of the robots.

Thor then flew in the air, throwing one of the robots into a nearby gas truck making it explode and torch any of the nearby robots.

"Angel," Steve called out.

"Got it." She responded before flying towards the gas made flame and absorbing it so that it wouldn't cause any damage to the people hiding in the shops close by.

Ultron looked around as he flew through the city, noticing how much damage Thor was causing to his bots. "Thor," he spoke before flying in his direction. "You're bothering me." He then grabbed Thor and flew away fighting him.

* * *

Clint was getting surrounded, he was shooting off as many arrows as he could but wasn't hardly making a dent. He flipped over the side of a car to avoid of the blasts and landed hard.

"Ow." He groaned as the robots blasts rocked the car he was hiding behind. He sighed and was about to continue on when a noise stopped him.

Wanda threw the doors to the house open, taking out all the robots she could with her red energy. She was crushing them with her power and throwing them into the ground giving Clint a chance to get up and take out the remaining few. Once they had gotten all the robots in their area, Clint gave her a little smile and a nod and she responded with a shy smile of her own.

"Alright," Clint spoke into the com as they walked, making sure to look around to make sure there were no straggling robots. "We're all clear here."

"We are not clear!" Steve yelled back, Thor had left them so they were stuck fighting off the swarming robots and struggling. "We a very not clear!" He shoved his shield into one of the robots, and jumped up, kicking it all the way through it, severing its head.

"Alright." Clint picked up into a jog. "Coming to you!" He said calmly.

That's when Pietro sped past him, letting the wind blow up Clint's jacket as he picked up Wanda. "Keep up, old man!" Then in a flash, they were gone, sending debris in Clint's face as he brought up his bow, keeping Pietro's blur in his sight while letting out an angry sigh.

"Nobody would know. Nobody." With another angry sigh, Clint tucked his arrow back into his quiver before jogging after them. "'Where's the kid? Last I saw him, an Ultron was sitting on him. Yeah he'll be missed, that quick little bastard. I miss him already.'"

* * *

Most of the group was together near the centre of the city, the robots disposed of for now.

"The next wave is gonna hit any minute." Steve announced as him all assisted in leading the people to safety. "What do you got, Stark?"

"Nothing great." Tony sighed. "Maybe a way to blow up the city." Tony thought about probably the only plan that would work, knowing he would have to stay behind for that, and he wouldn't be able to see his grandkids or Pepper again. "That'll keep it from impacting the surface, if you guys can get clear."

"I asked for a solution, not an escape plan." Steve said firmly.

"Impact radius is getting bigger every second. We're gonna have to make a choice."

"Not a choice that's going to cost you your life, Tony." Angel begged thinking the exact same thing that he was.

"Cap, these people are going nowhere." Natasha said knowing that it was the only option that might work. "If Stark finds a way to blow this rock,"

"Not till everyone's safe." Steve insisted.

"Everyone up here versus everyone down there?" Natasha questioned shaking her head. "There's no math there."

Steve turned to her. "I'm not leaving this rock with one civilian on it."

"We didn't say we should leave. There's worse ways to go." Natasha shrugged before looking out at the morning sky. "Where else am I gonna get a view like this?"

"Glad you like the view, Romanoff." Everyone started at the very familiar voice that came through the coms. "It's about to get better."

That's when the helicarrier came right into their view and they all smiled for the first time in a while.

"Nice, right? Pulled her out of mothballs with a couple of old friends. She's dusty," Nick Fury said nonchalantly. "But she'll do." Slowly, Wanda and Pietro came out of the store in awe while all the citizens went to the windows to watch.

"Fury, you son of a bitch." Steve spoke in almost a whisper while shaking his head.

Fury let out a whistle before responded to Steve. "You kiss your mother with that mouth?"

The helicarrier's lifeboats then came out, going towards the land. Pietro had a little smile on his face as he watched.

"This is SHIELD?"

"This is what SHIELD is supposed to be." Angel nodded to him.

His smile got just a little wider. "This is not so bad."

As the people began exiting their hiding places heading for the life boats, the second wave of bots hit but before they could do any damage War Machine came out of nowhere firing down every single one of them.

"Yes!" He yelled out through their coms. "Now this is gonna be a good story!"

"Rhodey?!" Angel cheered.

"That's right kid. Missed me?" He responded cheekily as Tony joined him in the skies.

"It'll be a great story, if you live to tell it."

"You think I can't hold my own?"

"If we make it through this, I'll hold your own."

"You had to make it weird." Rhodey sighed.

* * *

"You think you're saving anyone?" Ultron asked while gripping Thor's throat. "I turn that key and drop this rock a little early and it's still billions dead. Even you can't stop that."

"I am Thor, son of Odin, and as long as there is life in my breast..." His voice was getting hoarse as he was running out of air. "I am running out of things to say!" He looked to Vision behind Ultron, giving him a little smile and a nod. "Are you ready?"

Right when Ultron turned around, Vision hit him with Thor's hammer, sending him flying back a few hundred feet before tossing the hammer back to Thor.

"It's terribly well-balanced."

"Well," Thor spoke while moving to a swinging motion. "If there's too much weight, you lose power on the swing, so..."

"I got it!" Tony suddenly spoke while continuing to take out robots. "Create a heat seal. I could supercharge the spire from below."

"Running numbers!" Friday yelled just as the first boat made it into the helicarrier. "A heat seal could work with enough power."

"Thor! I've got a plan!"

"We're out of time!" Thor yelled back. "They're coming for the core."

"Rhodey," Tony commanded while switching his gear to fly toward the church. "Get the rest of the people on board that carrier."

"On it." He reported before flying off.

"Avengers!" Tony called out, "Time to work for a living."

* * *

Angel arrived at the church and immediately Tony flew down to meet her, his helmet opened up exposing his face as he looked her over for any injuries. Satisfied with what he say he close his helmet and went back to destroying the robots that came into the church.

Pietro was next to arrive, all of them taking out as many robots as they could. When the robots that escaped were trying to make it out, Steve go there just in time to take them out with his shield. Wanda then showed up, Pietro going to her immediately to check on her.

Tony looked around, knowing there were only two people missing. "Romanoff, you and Banner better not be playing 'hide the zucchini'."

"Relax, shellhead." Natasha was not amused as she spoke, especially since she was taking down multiple cars on her drive over there. "Not all of us can fly." When she got to the church she got out and quickly jogged to the rest of the group. "What's the drill?"

"This is the drill." Tony spoke while pointing to the core before looking back to Natasha. "If Ultron gets a hand on the core, we lose."

Hulk finally joined the group just as Ultron flew down, across from them, near the church. Thor moved forward. "Is that best you can do?!" he yelled at the android.

Ultron was unbothered as picked his hand up, and what seemed like a million robots began to advance towards them.

Everyone's mouth dropped at the swarm Steve turned to look at Thor, annoyance all over his face. "You had to ask." He drawled.

"This is the best I can do." Ultron continued on. "This is exactly what I wanted. All of you against all of me. How can you possibly hope to stop me?"

"Well, like the old man said," They all turned to Tony, and he smirked looking at Steve. "Together." Hulk then let out a loud roar and the swarm of robots attacked.


	7. Chapter 7

The robots began running into the church, but everyone was ready. Clint shot off a bow into the first one that got even remotely close to him. Steve slammed his shield into as many as he could. Wanda ripped them all apart with her energy. Thor smashed every one of them he could with his hammer while Tony shot each one with the powers of his suit. Angel flew through each one of the robots and they burst apart.

Natasha shot and fought her way through each one. Pietro was everywhere, leaving just nuts and bolts in his path. Hulk slammed them all into walls, and Vision flew around the group vaporizing every single one of them. Tony then flew through the air, shooting ones that got particularly close to the rest of the team shocking Wanda as he fired at one of the robots she had held frozen with her powers, as Vision ripped the insides out of the one robot he was struggling with.

Steve then flipped in the air with a spin to avoid one of them, and when he landed held up his shield in front of him which Angel fired at and he maneuvered to take out a line of the robots. Vision then flew and grabbed one of the robots in the air, ending it quickly as Wanda threw him his next victim

They all felt the heat of the lightening Thor brought down on the robots, but that was not stopping Hulk from ripping open one of the robots and going onto the next one on his back and yanking it off before tearing it apart with his teeth.

Ultron joined the fray and had clashed with Vision above them.

Vision then used the gem in his head to shoot at Ultron and make him stagger back, and blow him out of the church. Thor and Tony followed him out, each of them using their own energies, and melting the outer layer of vibranium that covered the AI.

"You know, with the benefit of hindsight – " Ultron began to say but Hulk then punched him so hard he went flying across the city.

Hulk growled at the remaining robots who immediately turn and ran away.

"They'll try to leave the city." Thor called out.

"We can't let them, not even one." Tony spoke frantically, calling on their other eye in the sky. "Rhodey."

"I'm on it!" He announced over the radio right when Vision flew off after them to help.

"We gotta move out." Steve spoke, "Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You guys get to the boats. I'll sweep for stragglers. Be right behind you."

"What about the core?" Clint asked while turning to look at it.

"I'll protect it." Both everyone that remained turned to Wanda, giving her a worried look. She couldn't watch it by herself. "It's my job." She clarified nodding to Clint who gave her an impresses look.

"Nat? Hothead? C'mon this way." The two of them piled into the car.

Pietro hurried to his sister, giving her a worried glance, but she just continued to blast the straggling robots. "Get the people on the boats."

"I'm not going to leave you here." He protested.

"I can handle this." She took down another robot with complete ease, leading to Pietro shrugging, knowing she was qualified to handle it, but he still didn't like the thought of it. "Come back for me when everyone else is off. Not before." Pietro pursed his lips, still not liking the idea, but he was going to do what she said. "You understand?"

Pietro turned around to look at her, a smirk on his face from how commanding her voice was. He didn't know what happened to her earlier, but she was so much more confident and he had never been prouder. "You know, I'm twelve minutes older than you."

Wanda let out a loud chuckle while shaking her head at her brother. "Go.

* * *

"I know what I need to do." Angel looked at Clint from the backseat in confusion at his random confession, but his eyes were trained on the road ahead of them. She also turned to look to Natasha, but she looked just as lost as her. "The dining room! If I knock out that east wall, it'd make a nice workspace for Laura, huh? Put up some baffling she can't hear the kids running around. What do you think?"

"You guys always eat in the kitchen anyway." Natasha said nonchalant.

"No one eats in a dining room." Clint scoffed as he parked nearby one of the lifeboats, over on the park no too far away the Hulk was still raging. Clint looked back to Natasha, worried about her safety. "We don't have a lot of time."

"Yeah," Natasha spoke while nodding, as she unclipped her seatbelt. "So, get your asses on a boat."

* * *

Tony was still working on disabling the core while Thor and Steve were working on collecting everyone else. "Thor," Tony spoke through the radio. "I'm gonna need you back at the church."

Thor looked to Steve, breathing heavily, feeling exhausted. "Is that the last of them?" He asked him.

"Yeah," Steve answered him, quickly looking around at the evacuations taking place.

"Friday, secure channel." Tony spoke to his UI and it did as asked securing the channel so that the next part of the conversation stayed between the three of them. He could only hope that Angel was so distracted by the evacuation that she wouldn't notice. "You know, if this works, we maybe don't walk away."

"Maybe not." Thor whispered.

* * *

Clint and Angel were amoung the last ones to load up, SHIELD agents and local policemen helped control the crowds and Angel stared longingly at the comfortable looking seats that she couldn't wait to curl up on.

"Costel!" A young women screeched in fear. She and Clint whipped around to see her seated on the floor wrapped in a blanket but still shaking. "We were in the market." She explained hastily. "Costel!"

Looking back out into the city they found the little boy on the ground on the other side of the street. Barton huffed and hesitated for a moment before he took off to retrieve the boy. He was probably thinking about his own son at home.

Angel thought of her own kids as she kept a close eye on Clint as he hauled the boy up and into his arms.

It was then that a rogue jet appeared in the sky, and started firing down at where Thor and Steve were, then made its way to Clint. Ultron again.

"Clint!" Angel yelled in warning as she took off towards the two of them, Pietro who was nearby also dashed off in hopes of helping.

Clint stared at the approaching aircraft and steeled himself turning his back and using his body to protect the boy in his arms.

Instead of the piercing of bullets Clint felt harsh breeze that rocked him a rush of heat and turned in shock to see Angel standing there powering down and breathing hard as Ultron sped away. Next to her was a car that was riddled with bullets and on the ground next to Clint was Pietro staring up at Angel in shock.

The pain of being shot at with a high powered weapon was too much for even extremis to handle Angel realized as he being to collapse from the pain.

She would have fallen face first too had Pietro not her just in time. "I didn't see that coming." Pietro told the archer in shock as he set the boy down and Pietro gently turned Angel around and cradled her.

"Hey. Hey hothead." Clint said gently slapping her cheeks to bring her to. "Angel," he stressed.

Then she groan and scratched her head against Pietro's chest. "Ow," she said opening her eyes slightly, "That really hurt."

Clint breathed a laugh in relief and turned around to grab the boy while Pietro gathered Angel up in his arms and began heading back towards the lifeboats.

"You are crazy." Pietro said looking down at the woman in his arms who was regaining her strength.

"I've heard that before." Angel responded. "You can thank me later." She teased.

Pietro laughed at her repeating what he'd said to her earlier in the day, he knew he liked this girl for a reason. "Yes, well you are going on the boat now. I have to go back and get Wanda."

"She's good." Clint said as he came up beside them carrying the boy in his own arms. "Vision picked her up, she's on another life boat." Pietro nodded, relief emanating off as he eagerly stepped onto the boat.

Steve came up on the boat behind them and took one look at Angel in the young man's arms and shook his head. "Do I even wanna know?"

"Probably not." Angel responded as Clint set down the boy and he ran into the arms of the crying blonde woman.

"You can put me down now," Angel told the Maximoff boy as he moved them deeper into the boat where there were slightly less people. "It's making your arm bleed." She pointed out but he shook his head.

"You're tiny, my arm is fine, you are not and we are here." He said setting her down on one of the chairs.

"I'm not tiny." Angel muttered as he settled down in the seat next to her and breathed out a sigh in relief as he stretched his long legs out in front of him and his arms above him.

Clint stumbled onto the seats across from them, "I'm fine, I'm fine." He said waving off the medical attention that was offered to him. "It's been a long day." He groaned laying back across the seats.

'Long day' was putting things mildly Angel thought sleepily to herself laying her head back on the seat to catch some shut eye before they landed, the seat that felt firmer and warmer than she would have imagined. 

* * *

"Angel, wake up." Someone was shaking her shoulder, and Angel groaned snuggling closer to the wall she was leaning up against. "No, no come on, wake up." Angel reached her hand out and felt around for Clint's face before pushing him away.

Then the wall she was leaning against shifted and shook with laughter, finally she peeled her eyes open to see Pietro smiling amused and Clint staring down at them.

"Shut up." She said to them both as she swung her legs off of the bench. "What's going on?"

"We dropped off the civilians on the ground at a Shield refugee camp setting up and we're on the helicarrier deck." Clint explained.

"Alright." She responded scratching an itch at the back of her head. Clint held out his hand and helped her up off the bench.

Angel hissed as her muscled protested to the movement after healing themselves from being shot not an hour earlier.

"Will you be good to walk?" Clint asked as he watched her groan and stretch out like a cat.

"I can carry you." Pietro immediately offered moving to step closer.

"Hey, hey, hey." Clint interjected stepping between the two of them and placing his hand on Pietro's chest moving him back a few steps. "No touchy, touchy kid." The younger man smirked but held his hands up in surrender.

"Settle down Hawkeye." Angel said as she rolled her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah let's get a move on, I need a sandwich and a nap." Clint said stretching himself hearing and feeling a few satisfying pops.

"Where are we going?" Angel questioned as she and Pietro followed Clint off the lifeboat and onto the helicarrier deck.

"Debriefing." The archer answered shortly.

Angel nodded and the three of the trudged across the deck, even Pietro hadn't dashed off yet, Angel thought as she glanced back at him and saw him glancing around the deck and at all the agents warily. He had a frown etched on his face but she could see his nervousness in his tense body as he looked around the deck.

She frowned too and said nothing reached back taking his hand in hers hoping to provide some comfort, he looked at her in shock but neither of them spoke on it and he squeezed her hand in thanks.

Finally the made it into the briefing room where they found Thor pacing across the room.

"Thor!" Angel called out letting go of Pietro's hand and throwing herself into the God's arms, who had to hunch down to compensate for their significant height difference.

"I am fine, Angel." Thor said releasing the smaller woman and looking her over for injuries.

"I know." Angel told him shrugging.

"I'm fine too." Tony said as he swept into the room and Angel practically flew at him making him grunt as he caught her in his arms and hugged her back just as tightly, once they let each other go they claimed two seats right next to each other at the table as everyone else trickled in.

As soon as he saw his sister, Pietro was at her side making sure she wasn't hurt, Vision was right behind her looking around at everything with his seemingly permanent expression of curiosity. Natasha came and sat down next to Clint who had his head buried in his arms. Then finally Steve came through the door with Director Fury and Maria Hill.

"You folks look like a hot mess so I'll make this quick." Fury said as was met with various groans of appreciation. Fury went through the standard mission debriefing protocol only a much more condensed version for the sake of the team, while Hill took notes on her tablet. "What about you kids?" Fury questioned the Maximoffs, who looked uncomfortable at being put on the spot. "You two staying with the Sokovians, or are you with us?" they shared a look.

"We will go to New York, with you all." Pietro answered after a beat.

"When do we leave?" Steve asked the question that was on everyone's mind.

"Got a quinjet all lined up and waiting." That was all the response anyone needed as they all stood and began to leave the room, that when Angel noticed that there was someone missing.

"Wait," she said and the group paused. "Where's Bruce?" everyone looked around at one another for the answer, and Angel looked right at Natasha. Last she'd seen the redhead was going off to de-hulk him. "Nat?" she questioned and they all turned to face her.

"He left." She said simply shaking her head, pushing past all of them and out the door.

**Author's Note:**

> Btw, if you wanna imagine what Angel looks like with her powers on display think SunSpot from X-Men Days of Future Past, that molten lava-ish kind of look is how I'd imagine extremis would look if it bonded with and took over a body.
> 
> As always let me know what you think and if there's anything you want to see in the future.


End file.
